A film about Northwest hip-hop from

NEWCOMER

This 82-minute feature film is an intimate introduction to Seattle’s vibrant hip-hop underground. It was assembled from hundreds of tiny performance clips—shot for Instagram—into a single, continuous concert mosaic, and stars 93 of the top hip-hop artists from The Town.

Here’s how KEXP describes it in their review: “NEWCOMER stretches the idea of the concert film to an artistic extreme: Sub-minute snippets artfully arranged to resemble a field recording of Seattle’s rap scene, the pieces fractured and pieced back together in a truly engrossing way. The narrative flows through venues like Barboza, Cha Cha Lounge, Vermillion, Lo-Fi, the Showbox, the Crocodile, and dozens more. It’s Khris P pouring Rainier into a Solo cup while he raps; bodies packed into regional landmark ETC Tacoma; SassyBlack improvising a song urging concertgoers to buy her merch; the delightfully awkward dance moves of white people in KEXP’s Gathering Space; Chong the Nomad beatboxing and playing harmonica simultaneously; Bruce Leroy bullying a beat next to the clothing racks at All-Star Vintage; Specswizard rhyming about his first time performing in front of a crowd while standing before The Dark Crystal playing on a projection screen. The film is about the moments we experience—as lovers of live performance—just as much as the performances themselves.”

NEWCOMER was directed by Gary Campbell and was an official selection at the 2020 New York Hip-Hop Film Festival and the 2020 Golden Sneakers International Hip-Hop Film Festival in Hamburg, Germany. Throughout November 2020, the film screened for four weeks on the Northwest Film Forum theatrical screening site in honor of Hip-Hop History Month.

You can watch the full movie below.

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Damaged By System

Falon Sierra took out a a half-page ad in The Stranger to announce the release of Damaged By System. The latest five-track EP from the “R&B Tomboy Princess” is about “the hurt that we create for ourselves, & how we are our own worst…” Queerspace Magazine praises its “dreamy lyrics, smooth vocals, and intriguing melodies that keep the music varied but never disjointed.” Her strong singing voice is set against reggae and indie-rock influences, provided by producers Lucy Christo, Noo Makes Music, and Akira Gautama.

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Lose Sight of The Shore

Shout out to local group New Track City whose latest release is currently charting in the top 12 of the NACC college airplay charts, alongside Kendrick and Jay-Z. When you hear Lose Sight of The Shore it’s no surprise to hear they’ve been traveling across the nation playing venues in LA, Chicago, and Fargo, North Dakota in support of this sensational record. Opener “Right Now” builds on a bed of vocals from the ever amazing Falon Sierra, before dropping verses from dueling rappers Bem and Chi.Stone. Each emcee has honed a uniquely solid style, and their constant counterpoint is what makes this album so special. Past releases have relied heavily on samples: With this one, they challenged themselves to maintain their signature sound with original performances, and I’d say they were more than successful: The exercise elevates their sonic landscape, with production that is gorgeous, rich, viscous, sticky stock, rolling bass, and bright horns. Spin a track like “Close” or “More and more” or “Judgement” and you’ll see what I mean. Rarely am I sitting on my couch at home waving my hands in the air, but that’s the sort of participatory devotion this record commands. It’s on all the streaming services. This is easily one of my favorite releases of the year, and I suspect when you check it out it will be one of your favorites, too.

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

See All

If you have the chance to see Call perform, you should go. He has an electrifying live show, deeply committed, a man possessed. My expectations were high when I first pressed play on See All, and this seven-song release delivers: Every single song is a note-perfect banger. Call’s bare, emotional verses are technically precise, inventive, and playful. He is completely captivating. Vocalist Falon Sierra contributes texture on two essential tracks, the downtempo “Heal You” and the singalong “The Ghost.” In the beats and production throughout there’s a sense of motion that I love, where some elements are moving a double time and others at half-speed, like you’re running and sitting still at the same time—a pretty good metaphor for the lyrical content throughout. Gorgeous cover from Ari Glass.

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

HerbsPenSoul

HerbPenSoul is an upbeat 2014 EP from Dex Amora. This was his debut, emerging into the world fully formed, with careful, precise vintage vinyl chop-ups and deft verses and wordplay. But what always strikes me when I spin this EP is its intimacy, as if you’re hanging with Dex on the couch, like old friends catching up, watching “Good Times,” feeling nostalgic about youth: “Pass the trees around and we’re all friends, presto,” as he raps on “Who I Be.” Flute samples are pretty rare, so it’s great to hear them at the end of “AimHigh,” a track also featuring Falon Sierra. After a too-long minute of laying low, he recently released some new tunes on SoundCloud, with the promise of more to come. Looking forward to hearing more from this cat.

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